Friendy & Cords

[Jacks Fur Coat]

Makes me wonder if this late charge can be attributed more towards Jason Ryles leaving than anything else?

Robbo was asked what he put the recent change in form and confidence down to.

Interesting response...he said it came down to loosening the grip a bit and playing freer. He used the comparisons of what happens if a tennis player grips the racket too firmly, or a golfer grips the club too hard.

So, in essence, the change came about with him tinkering with his own priorities as a Coach, and how that affected the playing group.

[zac]

Robbo was asked what he put the recent change in form and confidence down to.

Interesting response...he said it came down to loosening the grip a bit and playing freer. He used the comparisons of what happens if a tennis player grips the racket too firmly, or a golfer grips the club too hard.

So, in essence, the change came about with him tinkering with his own priorities as a Coach, and how that affected the playing group.

maybe but he's been using that analogy for months. i thought he was using it to get the players to relax. who was to blame for the players 'gripping the club/racket too hard' is open to debate and the players have to take their fair share of ownership of how they've played

[rented tracksuit]

This highlights why we have hit winning form. King Salvo would be proud of that anal.

Very true.

[ism22]

So that means if we just take our last 5 games, our average points scored and conceded is slightly better than Penrith's over the season.

Interesting...

Good news but important to remember the games were against Souffs, the Tigpies, Eels, Dolphins and Manly (none of whom will feature in the finals).

The one thing I'm proud of there is that in context, a lot of those teams COULD have made the finals if they'd beaten us. I think we validly broke a few backs along the way there.

[Waylander]

It's a damn shame that Friend is not going to stick around next year. Hopefully whatever his contribution has been can be replicated by others.

[Jacks Fur Coat]

maybe but he's been using that analogy for months. i thought he was using it to get the players to relax. who was to blame for the players 'gripping the club/racket too hard' is open to debate and the players have to take their fair share of ownership of how they've played

It is thought provoking...my take is that the players approach and attitude to their game is a reflection of the coaching and preparation they receive. So I think the tinkering came from Robbo with a realisation that something had to change. Big Ears coaching is an example of stubbornly doing the same thing and expecting a different result.

I feel it was Robbo who loosened the grip himself...first. Then the guys relaxed.

But yes, it's up for debate.

[Rooster_6]

No its accumulated average, not average. So in other words, the last 5 rounds have seen our points conceded drop massively.

Correct, to move a cumulative average so much in the last few rounds of the season is insanely good.

A more basic graph to demonstrate the turnaround would be something like the below;



*Byes in round 13 & Round 19

[Andrew Walker]

Correct, to move a cumulative average so much in the last few rounds of the season is insanely good.

A more basic graph to demonstrate the turnaround would be something like the below;



*Byes in round 13 & Round 19

How does one interpret your graph

The first graph 78 of those points came from 2 games against Penrith

The second 62 of those points conceded came against Brisbane and Melbourne

The last graph are all against sides who did not make the eight

This to me means the last graph could be painting a false picture or is inconclusive as to just how much improvement we have made defensively. The counter argument to that is the 48 points we conceded against Canterbury and Illawarra earlier on. That though does not detract from the fact of the 322 points conceded, all up 140 close to half were conceded in four matches against teams who have finished 1st 2nd and 3rd on the ladder

Hopefully we get a few more games to see how far we’ve improved defensively

[Rooster_6]

The first graph 78 of those points came from 2 games against Penrith

And 48 were conceded against the Dragons & Bulldogs (24pts in both games)

The last graph are all against sides whip did not make the eight

As above, we were conceding 20+ points against sides not making the 8 from rounds 11-16

But you are right, context matters and not playing a top 4 side in the last 5 rounds would deflate the numbers slightly although I would argue not by that much. Nothing substitutes for actually watching the game, my analysis of watching the games and factoring in skill level of opposition is that our defence has improved dramatically, I'm just using these statistics to try and paint that picture.

[Andrew Walker]

And 48 were conceded against the Dragons & Bulldogs (24pts in both games)



As above, we were conceding 20+ points against sides not making the 8 from rounds 11-16

But you are right, context matters and not playing a top 4 side in the last 5 rounds would deflate the numbers slightly although I would argue not by that much. Nothing substitutes for actually watching the game, my analysis of watching the games and factoring in skill level of opposition is that our defence has improved dramatically, I'm just using these statistics to try and paint that picture.

I mentioned the 48 points conceded V Muttts and Steelers

I would agree our defence has improved My opinion on watching games ( even allowing for the fact we conceded 30 agsinst Melbourne a week later as we were literally starved of the all second half ) is that this started at Brookvake against Manly

Hopefully we get to play the likes of Melbourne Brisbane and Penrith again to really see or should I say see how far we’ve come Now thinking of seeing how far we’ve come and me never being one to miss the opportunity for a sing song Here is one saying Let’s see how far we’ve come

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5d7Ebt...dmUgY29tZSA%3D

[Rooster_6]

I mentioned the 48 points conceded V Muttts and Steelers

I would agree our defence has improved My opinion on watching games ( even allowing for the fact we conceded 30 agsinst Melbourne a week later as we were literally starved of the all second half ) is that this started at Brookvake against Manly

Hopefully we get to play the likes of Melbourne Brisbane and Penrith again to really see or should I say see how far we’ve come Now thinking of seeing how far we’ve come and me never being one to miss the opportunity for a sing song Here is one saying Let’s see how far we’ve come

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5d7Ebt...dmUgY29tZSA%3D

See I thought out defence against the Storm was pretty good, we conceded two tries off kicks (Coates V Pauga) and an intercept try. We only conceded 3 linebreaks against them and I thought our defence in yardage was high level, I remember post game Bellamy even said he didn't feel the scoreline reflected how good of a game it was. I'd just back us to defend those kicks a little better next time round with Suaalii on the wing and just don't throw an intercept...

I'm optimistic about the finals series coming up, I'm just probably more concerned about our attack to be honest..

[Andrew Walker]

See I thought out defence against the Storm was pretty good, we conceded two tries off kicks (Coates V Pauga) and an intercept try. We only conceded 3 linebreaks against them and I thought our defence in yardage was high level, I remember post game Bellamy even said he didn't feel the scoreline reflected how good of a game it was. I'd just back us to defend those kicks a little better next time round with Suaalii on the wing and just don't throw an intercept...

I'm optimistic about the finals series coming up, I'm just probably more concerned about our attack to be honest..

I think you may have misunderstood me as I also thought we defended well against Storm (I thought me saying Even allowing for the fact they scored 30 I thought our improvement started the previous week V Manly would indicate that ) So much so Storm couldn’t get into the game field position wise in the first half It took a blitzkrieg of second half penalties and six agains for them to gain the ascendency

I take one game at a time My biggest fear Saturday night is the match officials refereeing us out of the contest

[Johnny Brass]

I don't know how long Nat has been switched to the left edge but it seems to have coincided roughly since Cords who was a gun in that position has had a bigger role and he's really owning it.
It just feels like our scramble defence has stepped up over the last month as it will have to as the competition we face gets better.

[roosterchook]

It is thought provoking...my take is that the players approach and attitude to their game is a reflection of the coaching and preparation they receive. So I think the tinkering came from Robbo with a realisation that something had to change. Big Ears coaching is an example of stubbornly doing the same thing and expecting a different result.

I feel it was Robbo who loosened the grip himself...first. Then the guys relaxed.

But yes, it's up for debate.

I think we began winning when Robbo returned players to their proper positions. Then he began using Brandon Smith for more than ten minutes even a half than almost full games which was crucial. Then Naps. With the south’s game I believe he was absolutely adamant for the players to win the footy not the fight. And all our aggro was released in smashing defense. In attack Sam was given every encouragement and didn’t he perform? We can be a great team when we are composed and don’t get baited into fighting.

[Bruce Pickett]

Good news but important to remember the games were against Souffs, the Tigpies, Eels, Dolphins and Manly (none of whom will feature in the finals).

The one thing I'm proud of there is that in context, a lot of those teams COULD have made the finals if they'd beaten us. I think we validly broke a few backs along the way there.

Apart from Melbourne, Penrith's oponents were similar to our's - Melbourne, Manly, Gold Coast, Parra, Nth Queens.

From memory, when we played Manly, Parra and of course Souffs, they were either in the top 8 or hanging by a thread. Also the scoreline against Souffs flattered them - it was more like 30-6 except for a stream of penalties and 6A in the second half given to them.